Colchicine 1, an alkaloid isolated from various sources including the meadow saffron Colchicum autumnale,' is the prototypic anti-mitotic agent and has been investigated as a drug for the treatment of various human diseases including glaucoma,2 multiple scler~sis,~ hepatitis B4 and HIV-I and -2.' It is now used clinically to combat the effects of both gout and familial Mediterranean fever and is also undergoing clinical development, at Abbott Laboratories and Merck Human ...